The Sam Vimes “Boots” theory of socioeconomic unfairness, often called simply the boots theory, is an economic theory that people in poverty have to buy cheap and subpar products that need to be replaced repeatedly, proving more expensive in the long run than more expensive items.
I have no clue where he’s buying his cars, or what shysters are conning him into buying junk without due diligence (get a third-party pre-purchase inspection done, folks!), but my experience matches your assertion.
I have a 2002 Mazda 626 and a 2003 F-150 7700, and together they’ve costed me less than $3k in repair and maintenance costs in the last half a decade.
Now granted, the F-150 needs AC work (a complete replacement… I live in a desert region with ridiculous summer temps) and the 626 could really use a complete engine rebuild (leaking oil like a sieve, compression no longer optimal, etc.), but even with both of those included I’m still well ahead of what even a single new vehicle would have cost me.
Anything less than a decade old just doesn’t make any financial sense unless you’re relying on it as a fundamental cog of a business and you can amortize it against taxes payable.
Work minimum wage as a student and only be able to afford cars close to 1k$, drive about 30k miles a year and tell me how that goes as far as maintenance is concerned 🤷